I found every SC except for Conviction to be a little too impenetrable for my tastes. This looks rather exciting to me.

Absolutely. I don't have the patience to redo a section of a game five times; I like stealth, but, if I screw up and get seen, just let me shoot my way out, mmmkay? Don't make the penalties for failing stealth so damn oppressive that it ruins the game. Conviction was great, and there was enough sneak/action mix to keep it fresh, plus I loved the mark and execute mechanic which kept driving me to get in close and get melee kills.

Conviction plus some Assassin's Creed climbing? That sounds like a seriously good time.

...Splinter Cell: Blacklist (neither of which I even knew existed until 10 minutes ago) are both totally on my radar. The "killing in motion" sh*t in Blacklist looks really slick, and I'm glad to mark/execute system is still in. I don't really care for the new voice actor for Fisher, though; he sounds way too young for the aging, grizzled Sam from Conviction. But whatever, I'll get over it. Aside from that, I'm really hoping for another great coop mode; the coop campaigns from Chaos Theory and Conviction provided some of the most fun I've had playing a game with another person.

And they're bringing back Spies vs Merc? Oh HELL yes.

EvilDead: I didn't think the climbing looked any worse than, say, the animation from Assassin's Creed. It looks way, way snappier and much more fluid than the rather stiff (by comparison) climbing mechanic in Conviction.

Personally I think they should have made Sam the leader (which he is) but stick him in the office and let the new guys have a shot. But it's Tom Clancy... so I can't really fault his stories. I now have the sudden urge to go back and play Conviction again. I'm so glad they kept this secret. It's nice to get surprised with this kind of stuff. With this and some other good titles coming out, it feels like another great year to be a gamer.

If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate. --Captain Zapp Brannigan

I'm happy to see the franchise continue. I really preferred the older Splinter Cell titles that were so much more focused on getting in and out unseen, but I'm not at all surprised to see the series continue in the "kill everyone" theme established in Conviction. It still makes for a fun game, just not as fun for me.

Now we just need to wait through all the inevitable delays and design changes. When it finally arrives in 2015 it could very well be a social networking based iPhone 8 game.

Personally I think they should have made Sam the leader (which he is) but stick him in the office and let the new guys have a shot. But it's Tom Clancy... so I can't really fault his stories. I now have the sudden urge to go back and play Conviction again. I'm so glad they kept this secret. It's nice to get surprised with this kind of stuff. With this and some other good titles coming out, it feels like another great year to be a gamer.

I think the problem is the mismatch between an ageing Sam Fisher and the faster gameplay Ubi want. I have a harder time staying immersed in a game if Sam is on one hand moaning about getting older (and part of getting older is becoming less physically able), and on the other somersaulting around the levels. Apparently he's only 55, which isn't over the hill, but it's going to mean something to his capabilities. In short, they can't have their cake and eat it, they can't say Sam is old and ignore that fact.

To me, it would seem like they would go in two directions, Sam flying a desk as the boss and a new guy in the field, or Sam in the field but taking into account his age characteristic. Another possibility would be to have two agents Sam/new young agent doing different types of mission through the campaign to keep things interesting. I think it would have been a good opportunity for asymmetrical coop, with Sam and the new young agent.

Who knows, along the way they might even accidentally make a new character gamers like as much as Sam.

Sam doesn't strike me as the kind of dude who'd do well jockeying a desk; he's more the "die with your sneakers on" kinda guy. But I see what you mean, Scratched. Chaos Theory had something of a concurrent mission system you mentioned between the game proper with Sam and the coop mode, which intertwined at points and even had communication between Sam and the two rookie agents. That kind of thing would be a great way to transition into a new protagonist for the future of the franchise, with the mission proper being in the hands of the new guy and Sam taking on more tertiary missions (like bashing heads into sinks and kicking dudes through bathroom stall doors. Ah, I do so love those silly interrogation sequences from Conviction).

Well they did have Archer and that Russian dude in Conviction co-op story. With the way the co-op ended, I can understand why they didn't return... but still, I'd be happy with a new guy being the on the field guy. But that being said, I don't really have a problem with Sam. He's Splinter Cell.

There was also a cool moment in the video when he sliced open the tent with his knife. Instantly brought me back to Chaos Theory. I liked the originals, but I also like the new approach too. Just as long as they keep their filthy DRM off it.

If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate. --Captain Zapp Brannigan

It seems a similar conundrum to AC:Rev, with a supposedly aging Ezio still running around like the Ezio from decades past. Credit to them for an older character, but they need to make that significant and match it to the gameplay.

I know I played the first SC game on PS2. Since then though I only tried a demo on PC back in 04 or 05. I gave up on this series because of that demo and Sam's inability to shoot a guy standing three feet in front of him.

I've actually found out last weekend that area in the demo was scripted for me to throw the guy off the bridge he was on rather than shoot him.

After seeing this game though I might take a closer look into this game if it's coming out on PC, which seems extremely likely.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Buy! Buy so you can be an ostrich who kills dinosaurs by kicking them in the face!

On 360 you're limited to 3 games. The core of them is the same, stealth and sneaking, and that you're weak in a direct gunfight compared to your enemies so you take them out on your terms with gadgets and infiltration.

Chaos Theory, which people who liked the old style games say is the best of that old style. Slow and methodical
Double Agent, I'd say not as good as CT, but still good.
Conviction, more action oriented and fast paced so it marks a change in the series. You're much more lethal and shooting your way out is much more viable option, with very few imposed stealth (detection=failure) sections.

On 360 you're limited to 3 games. The core of them is the same, stealth and sneaking, and that you're weak in a direct gunfight compared to your enemies so you take them out on your terms with gadgets and infiltration.

Chaos Theory, which people who liked the old style games say is the best of that old style. Slow and methodical
Double Agent, I'd say not as good as CT, but still good.
Conviction, more action oriented and fast paced so it marks a change in the series. You're much more lethal and shooting your way out is much more viable option, with very few imposed stealth (detection=failure) sections.

Chaos Theory was actually for original Xbox, but is backwards compatible, so it will play on the 360. I think Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow are the same situation actually. The first two didn't support inverting the Y-axis, but I think it was supported in CT. I agree that CT is the best of that old style, so you don't need to play the first two.

Agree about Double Agent. About half traditional gameplay, and half "sneaking in the open" (you go undercover in a criminal / terrorist organization). Also has some story branching.

Conviction is a very different game. It's much quicker. You can shoot your way out if you get caught, but it isn't really a shooter either and you will die if you play it that way. It's actually kind of the same approach to stealth gameplay as Batman Arkham Asylum, if you've played that.

There's an original xbox Double Agent which had two-player cooperative missions. Both Double Agent and Chaos Theory's multiplayer modes probably don't work anymore at all, and the framerate on Chaos Theory is often janky.

It's quite jarring to go back to PT and then remember that's the same year stuff like Doom3, Half-life2, Far-Cry and Chronicles of Riddick:EfBB were coming out. I wouldn't recommend going that far back unless you absolutely have to see the whole series. CT is fine though.

The Chaos Theory on 360 was just the Xbox Originals download though. I do agree that you don't really need to play the earlier ones though.

Danjo Olivaw wrote:

There's an original xbox Double Agent which had two-player cooperative missions. Both Double Agent and Chaos Theory's multiplayer modes probably don't work anymore at all, and the framerate on Chaos Theory is often janky.

I played the Generation 6 version of Double Agent on the Wii, and enjoyed it quite a lot. It felt more "traditional" than the Gen 7 version. I don't think it's backwards compatible though.